From June 6 to July 6, I studied wildlife management through the School for Field Studies in Tanzania in East Africa, just south of the equator. During my first time abroad, I made great friends with other American students and Tanzanians, learned about the country's culture, practiced speaking Swahili, saw incredible wildlife and scenery, and truly felt blessed with the bliss in my life.

The country is perfect for tourists and students alike who wish to observe its famous wildlife and vistas. In Tanzania, 32 percent of the land is under some form of protection. It has Mount Kilimanjaro, which at 19,000 feet towers over the plains and is the highest peak in Africa; seven U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization world heritage sites; and six of the world's 25 biodiversity hot spots.

About 50 million people call Tanzania home, and the population, growing at 3 percent a year, is doubling around every 25 years. It is a diverse nation with over 100 ethnic groups and languages; however, most Tanzanians speak their local language, some English and Swahili.

Despite the harm wildlife can pose to farmers, pastoralists and others, the citizens of Tanzania put up with wildlife and are proud of their wildlife resources. There are few places on Earth with such diverse and majestic species as Tanzania. For example, it is relatively easy to find all species that make up the so-called big five: elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo, leopard and lion. I was able to cross off spotting the big five from my bucket list while there.

Besides their intrinsic value, Tanzanians cherish wildlife resources for the impact it has on their developing economy. Tourism and travel account for 13 percent of the gross domestic product, and 11 percent of the labor force is employed in the tourism sector.

Some Tanzanians, with support from their government, have found ingenious ways to integrate the needs of wildlife and human development through wildlife management areas.

In the early 2000s, with help from the Tanzanian government and the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Burunge wildlife management area was set up and it is managed by 10 villages. During the 1900s, it was a famous trophy hunting ground for wealthy Americans. Located near Lake Manyara and Tarangire national parks, it is an important wildlife corridor.

The amount of poaching there has greatly decreased due to an increased amount of rangers and patrols, largely due to the backing of a hunting guide organization. The wildlife management area produces annual revenues in the hundreds of thousands of dollars through live animal capture, tourist and resident hunting, camping and wildlife observation. The funds are used for maintenance of the wildlife management area and community projects such as buying desks for schools and supporting health care; some funds are given to villagers.

Besides balancing wildlife conservation with human development, Tanzania faces other challenges, such as overgrazing of areas by livestock, loss of wildlife corridors, loss of genetic diversity, poaching, climate change, disease and retaliatory killing by farmers when their cattle are attacked by lions.

It should be noted that livestock loss to predation is the same as loss due to theft by humans, which is 3 percent of animals. More progress can be made by installing metal fencing for protective livestock corrals at night, which coupled with blinking lights that are effective in repelling lions. Also increasing payments from the government to farmers who lose their assets — their livelihood — to wildlife such as elephants and lions would help.

Tanzania has made great strides toward wildlife conservation, but it can capitalize on its opportunities and challenges to provide a future that includes the diverse wildlife it has.

Benjamin Hawes, a 2014 Bangor High School graduate, is a junior at Keystone College studying environmental resource management.